


At Least Trees Can't Talk

by shippingmyarmada



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Fluff, Kissing, M/M, awkward boys being awkward, doesn't really diverge from canon other than that jarchie doesn't exist in canon, mentioned archie/veronica and jughead/betty, mild infidelity i guess?, no big plot changes, season 2 episode 14, spoilers for all episodes after s2e13, they're angsty awkward teens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-04-20 23:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14272290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shippingmyarmada/pseuds/shippingmyarmada
Summary: Archie and Jughead are in the woods, tossing a water jug back and forth. Maybe there's been too much talk about kissing in this friend group.





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn’t...bad to kiss Veronica. It just wasn’t really anything Jughead ever wanted to do again. Ever. If he could help it. It seemed like a good time to stop kissing his friends. Or at least the ones that weren’t Betty.

How history repeats itself. Sitting on rocks, tossing a water jug back and forth. Archie Andrews, looking almost like nothing had ever happened. Archie’s eyes, deep and piercing. Jughead knew he was being examined. 

Break the silence.

“So you and I are the only ones who haven’t kissed.”

“Yeah,” Archie replied, it was obviously taking a second for that information to process, “Wait, Betty and Veronica? When?”

“First week of school. At cheerleading practice, apparently.” Archie was staring at him again, “Yeah, I don’t know either.” 

“Weird,” Archie looked away as he said it, eye contact with Jug becoming a little uncomfortable. Sometimes they were both just too intense. Too much teen angst in a small town.

Looking at Archie, perched on a rock, troubled look in his eyes, almost made Jughead want to make his previous statement untrue. But that was just an intrusive thought. One brought on by a cabin full of sex and booze. The silence was uncomfortable, settling like a thick blanket around Jughead. He was pretty sure that the only actual uncomfortable part was how he was now watching Archie’s plump lips and imagining what they'd feel like on his. And what his thick hair would feel like between his fingers. And just maybe what his chest would feel like pressed against his own. Fuck.

It was ridiculous, in more than one way, to be thinking about his (former) best friend like that. For one, they both had girlfriends, and he shuddered to think what those two would say about a jarchie kiss. For two, they weren’t gay. At least Jughead wasn’t. No matter what the foggy air and leftover booze was probably doing to his brain. These thoughts were definitely just because of the atmosphere of a rich getaway cabin and obviously meant nothing in reality.

Archie wasn’t looking at him anymore.

“If we’re the only ones left out, maybe we should just do it.” Jughead didn’t think he’d ever be more surprised at words coming out of Archie’s perfect mouth.

“What?” Jug couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“You know, like Roni said, clear the air. If we’ve all done it then none of it means anything.” Archie was scratching the back of his neck, a habit he had picked up whenever he was nervous of uncomfortable in a situation.

“You do mean kiss, right?” Because at that point, Jug didn’t think he could be sure unless it was spelled out for him.

“Forget it, I shouldn’t have said anything, it was stupid.”

“Sure. Let’s do it. Clear the air, right?” Jughead was pretty sure that kissing Archie would do anything but clear the air. It would probably muddy it up more than before.

Suddenly they were both standing, though Jughead didn’t actually remember getting up. Archie was oddly intimidating, mere feet away from him. Brown eyes met blue for a second before they both looked away. Jughead glanced back, and suddenly they were kissing. 

Jughead wasn’t sure exactly who closed the distance between them, nor who started the kiss. All he knew was that his hands were tight on Archie’s face, his fingers brushing red hair. Archie’s hand were flitting across his back, like he didn’t know where he was supposed to put them. One settled between Jug’s shoulder blades, the other wrapped tightly around his waist.

Jug’s hand moved seemingly on its own, tangling into Archie’s hair. Archie’s lips were even softer than Jug had imagined, just mere minutes ago, and kissing him sent a rush through Jug unlike any other. Was it because it was a guy? Or was it because it was Archie? All Jughead knew was that he didn’t know anything, nor had he experienced anything quite like kissing Archie before.

A hint of stubble brushing his chin, strong hands on his back, a whiff of aftershave, a hard chest against his, pushing him backwards until they ran into something. From the rough texture replacing Archie’s hands on Jughead’s back, it had to have been a tree. 

It was nothing like kissing Betty. She was soft and pliable most of the time, letting Jug take control. Not harsh and pushy and strong like Archie. 

At about the time his back hit the tree, Jughead figured he better try fighting for a bit of dominance in the kiss. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? His hand dropped to the other boy’s waist and pulled him closer. And with that, it seemed Archie had come to his senses. He pulled back, away from Jug. Their breath came heavy, fogging in the cold air around him. Despite the nip of the wind, Jug felt anything but cold.

Archie was laughing, but it wasn’t anything like his normal booming laugh. It was small and awkward, and his right hand had come back to scratch his neck. His face was so flushed it almost matched his hair.

“I guess we got a little carried away there,” Archie said, eyes shifting quickly from Jughead’s back to the ground.

“Yeah, I guess,” Jughead said, only because nothing else came to mind. 

Archie was staring at Jughead, he could feel his eyes hot on his face even while he wasn’t looking. The urge to kiss Archie again overcame him, but he pushed it down, mainly because neither of them were gay and this was just a weird fluke.

When he looked back at Archie, he just barely caught the other boy’s gaze flicking away. 

“We don’t have to talk about this, right?” Archie asked, hesitant.

“No.”

Just what they needed right then, even more tension. Pile it on, Jughead thought, why stop at the weird tension over Veronica and her father and Archie’s newfound love for the scheming man? Add a little sexual tension between two (former) best friends. That’s just what everyone needed.

Jughead snuck a last glance at Archie, just in time to see him adjusting his blue jeans subtly. At least Jug wasn’t the only one a little too worked up by the whole situation.

The two boys made the hike back to the cabin in relative silence, neither one too inclined to spend any more extended time alone together, and neither one knowing how to make any small talk that wouldn’t just turn into making out. At least the girls were back by the time they reached the cabin, so they wouldn’t have to think too much about what had happened in the woods.


	2. Choices

The next time the boys were alone together was in an empty classroom. Jughead had been minding his own business (sort of) working on his piece about Hiram, when Archie barged in in a slight panic. His hair was mussed and his face was flushed and looking at him like that took Jughead right back to that afternoon in the woods.

Jughead heard what Archie was saying about his dad, but truthfully he didn’t start listening until he dropped the bomb of the Lodges buying Pop’s. That little piece of information replaced any desire to do anything with Archie.

Each time they were alone together after that was just about Archie’s dad running for mayor. Not that Jughead was complaining, he really didn’t actually want to be alone with Archie without something keeping them going. He felt bad enough about not telling Betty about the first kiss. If it happened again it would make everything worse. And Jughead was almost positive that if he and Archie ran out of steam for the projects keeping them going, something would happen. Hell, he figure that if Archie just got too close to him something would happen.  
Jughead’s kitchen. A lull in conversation. The air felt the same as it did in the woods outside the Lodge Lodge, heavy and secretive and just a little awkward. 

Break the silence.

He couldn’t. He was stuck in an intense staring contest with Archie, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t get his mouth to comply and make a snarky joke about something, anything. 

Jug had stood to leave after Archie suggested talking to Josie, but his feet were stuck to the ground now, unwilling to push past the other boy to the door. Archie was just mere feet away, once again. And once again, they were kissing without Jughead ever realizing how it came to be. 

The taste of Archie’s lips was just how Jug remembered it. Not that he had been thinking about it. At all. Ever. This time neither boy was as hesitant. Archie was taking control again, pushing him back against the counter and cupping Jug’s neck with one of his hands. Jug’s own hands were tightly fisting Archie’s shirt, though he wasn’t sure when he did that. He thought it was a bit too feminine for his edgy persona so he slipped the around Archie’s waist instead. This time, to Jug’s surprise, Archie didn’t pull away, instead just deepened the kiss. This was turning into a proper make out session without either boy really expecting it. 

The trailer door opened with a bang, signalling FP’s return from his shift at Pop’s. With that, Archie had sprung away, hands stuck in his pockets. 

FP casually strolled into the kitchen, “Hey boys,” he grunted, eyes rolling over Archie’s burning face and awkward stance in the middle of the kitchen. “Did I interrupt something?” he asked while pushing past Archie and rummaging around in the fridge. 

“No!” they both blurted simultaneously. 

There was a pause from FP. “Kay, whatever you say.” And with that, FP had disappeared, along with whatever mood the two teens had been in.

“Well, I better go see if Josie can get Mayor McCoy to talk my dad out of this,” Archie said quickly, all but running out the door and leaving Jug alone and very confused. 

After watching him go, Jug pushed Archie out of his mind. There were more important things to think about, like Hiram Lodge taking over the South Side. 

That night, after telling Jug about the Serpents trashing the drive in for Hiram, FP changed the conversation. 

“So, you and Archie earlier? What’s going on there?” he asked, trying not pry too much. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen that kid’s face match his hair.”

“Nothing, Dad, it’s not important,” Jughead replied, taken aback. He figured as long as he didn’t look at his father he wouldn’t be found out.

“I’m not gonna judge you, if that’s what you’re worried about. Guarantee I’ve done a lot worse.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure,” Jughead felt his face burn with embarrassment on being called out. It wasn’t like FP even knew what had been going on in the kitchen. All he knew was that the were being suspicious, right?

The jingle of Jug’s ringtone saved him from the conversation. As he rushed out the door FP called out, “You know, I don’t mind, Joaquin was gay.” His laugh boomed through the slamming door.

Well fuck.

At least there was no way FP was serious. Right? FP was only teasing Jug, he didn’t actually know what had happened in the kitchen.

The rowdy, roaring footsteps in the school hallway. The clanging of lockers. The friends laughter. Jughead passed through the halls in a daze, seeing but not processing. All he really cared about now was saving South Side High. It was ridiculous, even to him, his desire to save a school he only went to for a few weeks, but he had to do something. He had to feel in control for once.

Jughead never seemed to be in control, unless he was writing the story. Homelessness, even though he had chosen it for himself, he had always been at someone else’s whim. Destroy the drive in, live in secrecy at school, camp out at Archie’s for a bit. Nothing was his choice in the end. FP going to jail, he sure as hell couldn’t control the recklessness of his father nor the justice system. Hiram buying the South Side. And now this, whatever it was, with Archie. Everything was out of Jug’s control, despite the fact that they affected him drastically. 

But he could make a difference. Or at least he had to believe that he could. So he would go on a fast. He would chain himself to the front steps of a school if he had to. If it could do anything, even something tiny, it would be worth it. 

Archie seemed to have taken up snarky comments and being overly harsh on Jug’s plans. Jug wasn’t sure if this was because of the strange sexual tension between them that seemed to make it almost impossible for them to be in the same room alone together or if it had more to do with Jug going against Veronica and her father. Either way, Jug did kind of like pissing him off, in a weird way, though that was probably just because if Archie was getting pissed, it meant that Hiram was too. And Archie was pretty hot when his ears turned red and he scowled. 

Betty was an issue. She was an issue because Jug really did like her. He probably loved her, even. She kept doing nice things for him, too, like coming to visit while he was chained on the steps (none of his other friends did that) and encouraging his crazy ideas of stopping the Lodges. He still hadn’t told her about Archie, and he probably wouldn’t because really, how do you tell your girlfriend you’ve made out with her old crush and you best guy friend not once, but twice? You don’t, that’s how. Especially because this time Jug was really going to try to not let it happen again. For Betty’s sake. Even if he happened to really like kissing Archie. 

What would good would telling Betty do? Did he want to break up with her and try do date Archie? Not really. It took him long enough to want to date Betty in the first place. Plus, what were the chances that Archie would break up with Veronica (and her family) to date a guy, no matter how much Kevin questioned the redhead’s sexuality. Those chances had to be pretty low. Even if he really seemed into making out with Jughead. 

If he told Betty, it would just make her feel bad and not trust him or his sexuality. So he would just keep quiet and feel guilty about being a shitty boyfriend. 

Jughead could taste blood when Archie strode up to him with bolt cutters casually balanced on his shoulder. Their eye contact was once again intense, but this time Jug was filled with hatred, not desire. At least with the encounter being videotaped, Jug would have the upper hand in one way. Archie could cut him down, but he wouldn’t fall. 

With his hands raised he only accepted defeat in this battle. He accepted that he would always come second or third. Veronica, Hiram, then maybe Jughead in Archie’s eyes. Though Betty was probably before him at this point. 

There Archie was, tall and muscular, casual as he chose Hiram over his childhood friend. All Jughead could see was him, the background blurring away as they spoke to each other. It didn’t really matter what Archie said at that point, Jug knew it would be recorded and he hoped that he would come out as the good guy in the tapes.

Betrayal stung deep when Archie pushed him out of the crowd with the same hands that had held him the day before. Jug's eyes stung, and not just because he was loosing the school.


	3. Chapter 3

Archie could remember the exact moment he realised that Jughead was pretty attractive. His back curved over the sink as he combed out his wet hair, a towel hung loosely around his waist, his shoulders relaxed for the first time Archie had seen in a long time. It was then that Archie hesitated. His eyes stuck to Jug in a way he was only really used to with Veronica, and maybe Grundy. For the first time, the boy before him was what he really was, a young adult with a body that wasn’t unattractive, instead of the dorky kid he grew up with for so many years. For the first time, he could see what Betty saw in dating him. Not just in dating, but dating Jughead. 

Luckily for Archie, Jug looked up and broke him from whatever thoughts he was having. Those thoughts were then promptly pushed from his mind when Jughead revealed that he was living at the school. And all truth be told, Archie forgot about that sticky moment in the locker room.

In light of recent events, Archie thought that maybe the scene in the locker room hadn’t been as innocent as he had previously thought. 

Archie Andrews had never thought of himself as anything other than the straight, jock-ey, boy-next-door. Wanting to kiss his male best friend, who he was currently fighting with, everything they were in a room alone together did not factor well into that equation. So Archie did what any teen boy confused about his sexuality did. He pushed it down and pushed himself further into his relationship with Veronica.

So when Jughead lounged lazily next to Betty on the couch or tied his stupid flannel shirt around his waist or even when he complained about being on his own stupid hunger strike; it sure annoyed Archie that he couldn’t stop looking and thinking about the kisses they shared. Even when Jughead was being an asshole to Veronica, the person he actually loved, Archie couldn’t stop looking. Staring, even, and when Jughead caught his eye with the same smouldering, intense stare an electrical jolt shot down his spine. 

Hiriam could manipulate Archie so easily and flawlessly that Archie didn’t notice until it was too late. Archie had been sure that he wanted to cut Jughead off the old school up to the point he was standing in front of him on the steps, bolt cutter raised. It wasn’t until then that he noticed that doing this hadn’t actually been his idea. That nothing was ever came from Archie, even when he truly thought it had, it always came from Hiriam. He hadn’t really hated Jug’s campaign to save the South Side at first, especially after Jug had explained why he wanted to save it so badly. It wasn’t until Jug started snapping at Veronica and Hiriam had weaseled ideas into his head that he wanted to do anything about Jug’s protest. 

Archie only faltered for a second, looking into Jug’s eyes, thinking that the last time he was this close, he had been about to kiss the other teen. The air was so thick with tension and dampness it almost felt hard to move his arms those next few inches and cut through the chains.

He wasn’t sure why he pushed Jughead, he hadn’t really meant to. It was just that he was so mad about everything, Jughead and Veronica hating each other, Betty and Veronica fighting, his issues with his dad, Hiriam, and especially how much he liked kissing Jug.

It was easier when Jughead was mad at him. When he looked at Jug and got an annoyed sneer back instead of that look that said “I knew you liked kissing my stupid hot mouth”, he knew it was somehow easier. And when time passed and tensions fell and Jughead stopped looking like a kicked puppy, Archie thought it would possibly just go back to normal. He could make out with Veronica in the halls and only think about Jug half the time.

His relationship was strong and there wasn’t anything he wanted less than to end it, yet somehow he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like with Jug. Not that he would want to be known as the guy who went from teacher to new girl to guy. Plus, he already felt like an asshole for kissing someone who wasn’t Veronica (again) and this time not telling her about it. 

Jug slowly seemed to forgive him for the incident at South Side High. He even seemed happy, as carefree as someone like Jug could be, while filming for the production of Carrie. Even joking around about Archie and Betty’s character romance. Archie didn’t know what or who to credit this relaxation of tensions with. All he knew is that the load weighing down his shoulder lightened everytime Jug smiled near him, and the knot of dread and fear in his stomach tightened at the same time.

All in all, Archie figured not kissing Jug everytime he brushed past him or made eye contact with him or his fingertips grazed his arm was a small price to pay for the uneasy time of peace and happiness for the group.

That was, until Jug invited him into an empty room for his interview. Archie had been trying to avoid that exact scenario for as long as possible. Neither boy could guarantee the outcome. Archie didn’t even know what he would want the outcome to be, anyway. 

The door closed softly behind Archie. They were alone again. Nothing good ever happened when they were alone.

The camera hung loosely from the strap around Jug’s hand. He was close enough for Archie to touch if he reached out. Archie’s breath came heavy, his eyes once again stuck in contact with Jug’s. It was inevitable. They both knew it as soon as the door closed.

Before anything could happen, a sharp knock echoed from the door. Kevin’s head appeared, already talking.

“Jughead, are you almost done with the interviews? We should start editing them together sooner than later,” Kevin’s confident voice faltered and trailed off at the end of his sentence. He had not come into the room fully, but he didn’t need to to sense the tension in it. His eyes flitted between his classmates. He knew it wasn’t what his first thought was, but he couldn’t place exactly what the room felt like. Just because it had the same air as the first time Kevin met Joaquin, didn’t mean that suddenly the (sadly) straightest guy in school (and Jughead) had turned gay. 

Jughead took a step back, his eyes lingering on Archie for a last second before addressing Kevin, “I’m almost done. Don’t worry.”  
“Thanks. I’m going to go now. Important things await,” Kevin replied, wanting to get out of that awkward situation as fast as possible. He really didn’t need anything else to worry about right now. Whatever was going on between Jughead and Archie could stay between them and had better not turn this show into a mess. God knew that there was already enough conflict between the cast. Archie and Jughead looking ready to either throw punches or make out in an empty classroom was not going to be another problem on Kevin’s mind.

Back in the classroom, Archie wasn’t looking at Jughead. He knew that if they were going to get the interview over with, it was best to just avoid looking at Jughead for the foreseeable future. 

“Let’s just get this over with,” Archie said, sitting down on one of the pre-arranged chairs. 

Jughead’s face was unreadable. The eyes that minutes before seemed to stare into Archie’s soul and were filled with confusion and lust were now closed off and jaded. It was easier to look at the camera than to see Jug and wonder what they were doing. 

The interview made Archie realise a few things. First off, he was being a terrible son. Secondly, Veronica’s father was an angel of death and destruction. Thirdly, he was even more lost on what he should do about the Jughead situation. 

So Archie attempted to fix things. Although the only one relationship he could easily fix was with his father, so he started there. An old car from the junkyard and a promise to repair it in the summer was all it took for the reassuring, happy smile to reappear on his father’s face. It was worth whatever consequences would come from the harsh words he spoke to Hiram. 

In the last few days before the play, it was easy to keep himself from being alone with Jughead. Archie vowed that for Veronica’s sake, he would stop whatever it was that was happening between the two boys. It was also a lot easier, and he thought after the year they had had, both boys deserved to have something be easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going to continue this story to the end of the season. And I'm going to try and get the next chapter out soon bc I have a good idea of where I want it to go. Does anyone have a prefrence of Archie's POV vs Jughead's?


	4. Chapter 4

The air in the dressing rooms sang with excitement, nervous energy circling around the students of Riverdale High. The night of the musical was in full swing, and those performing chattered and buzzed through the set and dressing rooms like bees freshly gorged on nectar. Songs rang through the halls, drifting from wherever the actors were doing their final rehearsals to wherever Jughead happened to be. 

Sitting in the empty auditorium, listening to the voices of his friends mix in the air, Jughead was the happiest he had felt in a long time. There was a certain contentedness that came from being surrounded by his friends, the absence of recent drama, the pure giddiness that flowed from Betty, Archie, and Veronica. 

It was temporary, everything always was. His heart was heavy with melancholy. No matter how much he wanted to leave this town, he knew that moments like this were fleeting. That the moments he had this year with his friends, good and bad, would never come back when they were over, and one day they would simply be memories. He thought of his Archie’s old fantasy of the two of them in a loft in New York. What it would have been, what it could be now. How everything changed with the kiss in the woods behind Lodge Lodge. How everything had changed when Archie had all but gotten into bed with Hiram Lodge. 

Jughead would later remember that moment of quiet reflection and melancholy joy as the calm before the storm.

In the time that Jughead sat in quiet contemplation in the auditorium filming B-roll, his friends would come out on stage in different states of costume and makeup, getting last moments of practice in. Jughead would routinely end up unknowingly focusing on Archie, and subsequently, Betty. It struck him how odd it was that his love interest and his potential love interest (or whatever the hell Archie was) were playing love interests in the play.

Discovering the magazine clippings in Ethel’s trash came as a relief in a way that Jughead couldn’t explain. It had seemed like the night had been going too well for the band of friends. Jug knew that his feeling of ease had to be broken at some point during the night, and it was a relief for it to be in such an easy, non threatening way. For Ethel to be the Black Hood, back or not, was probably the most ridiculous thing Jug had thought. For the new “Black Hood” to be found as Ethel put him back at ease, as it meant the posters would be the worst of it.

As the night drew closer to the start, the actors were finally fully in costume. It seemed to Jughead from his post in the hallway that they had chosen a song to end rehearsal on, but he had never really understood how people just decided to break into song. He had chosen his hallway post for the cinematic view of everyone filing past on their way to the stage. He had not accounted for the singing and running and dancing of his friends, but it would be a nice touch to the documentary. 

One by one they filed past, singing their parts, giddy with excited nervousness, waving and dancing for the camera, until the final cast member. Archie’s face was filled with a radiant smile. After the awkward scene in the interview room and the events of the past couple weeks, it was a pleasant change to see Archie look anything other than brooding. 

Everyone was so focused on what was going on in front of them that no one other than Jug noticed when Archie paused, made sure no one was looking, and grabbed Jughead by the shirt. The camera slipped from where Jug had been keeping it steady, uncomfortably trapped between their bodies. He would have to remember to edit this out of the film. The words of the song Archie had been singing barely stopped coming out of his mouth by the time it as pressed against Jughead’s. This kiss was different from the ones before, the secret nature stayed but this was full of excitement and giddiness, without a drop of teenage angst to be found.

Jughead was pretty sure that Archie hadn’t known he was going to do it before it started, as the kiss was over almost as quick as it had started. Jug hadn’t even had the time to do anything with his hands other than leave them limp and pressed between their bodies. Archie pulled only inches away, looking into Jughead’s eyes, his heavy breath hot on Jug’s mouth. Every place they touched seemed to burn. Red hair brushed Jughead's forehead. Archie was going to say something, Jughead knew, but the black haired boy wasn’t sure he wanted to hear whatever it would be.

Jughead beat Archie to the punch and said, “We don’t have to talk about it.”

Archie didn’t respond, he only loosened his grip and kissed Jug one last time, quick and fleeting; before dashing to join the rest of the cast. He left Jug with only the memory of a hard chest against his own, breathing heavily and flushed cheeks that surely matched his hair, and brown eyes too intense to think about. 

Midge’s murder came as a surprise to everyone, and quickly dismantled any sense of ease felt by Jughead. He fell back into step with Betty easily, and Archie and Veronica seemed more distant than ever. Fighting crime seemed to do that to their group.

The hunt for Betty’s real brother rekindled the romance had been put on pause during the play. Jughead easily remembered why he was with Betty in the first place. It was even easier to take his frustrations with everything out on Chick. 

Guilt crept up the back of Jughead’s throat everything he saw Betty, begging to spill out and confess to her. He couldn’t tell her for so many reasons. And, though he had forgiven her for it, Betty never told him about the kiss she and Archie had shared around Christmas. So he shoved all feelings down and focused on what really mattered. Finding the new Black Hood.

Since the moment before the play, Archie and Jughead hadn’t been around each other much, let alone alone together. When they were around each other in the presence of their respective girlfriends, they could act like nothing had happened. The only tell was a few lingering glances, a glancing touch on an arm that sent a shiver down Jughead’s spine. The more time passed, the easier it was to believe that everything was a figment of his imagination. Until Archie’s fingers would brush the soft skin of the back of his hand and look at him with a mixture of lust, anger, and confusion. And in those moments, Jughead knew that what he was feeling was mirrored by Archie.

Archie Andrews showed up on Jughead’s doorstep looking like a beaten puppy, his bruised face caked in Veronica’s make up, his eyes full of pain that obviously wasn’t from the beating.

“What are we doing, Jughead?” he asked, as Jug joined him on the step and quickly closed the door behind him to block his father from their conversation.

“I don’t know, Archie,” he responded truthfully, noticing the unusually serious nature of his words. Jug’s hand moved up to wipe off a swipe of makeup from Archie’s face, “What happened?”

Archie shrugged his hand away but didn’t move back, “St. Clair,” was all he said. 

“This is all Hiram Lodge’s fault.”

“Not this, I had something coming after punching that asshole.”

“I meant more than that. Everything in this town went to shit after the Lodge’s moved in.”

“I love Roni.”

“I think you have Stockholm syndrome.”

“She’s not that bad, Jug. Betty’s made up with her.”

“Her father isn’t destroying Betty’s childhood,” Jughead looked away then, regretting how the conversation had turned to the Lodges. Regretting how everything always had to be so complicated.

Archie’s fingertips brushed Jug’s cheek, forcing him to look back at the redhead. “You love Betty, right?” Archie asked quietly, eyes searching Jughead’s face for something Jug wasn’t sure was there.

“Obviously.”

“And I’m in love with Veronica,” he repeated, and they were kissing again. Soft and slow, filled with the sadness from Midge’s death, the guilt of what they were doing to their respective girlfriends.

Jughead allowed himself to be guided, his back pressed against the white plastic door. His hands drifted up to cup Archie’s neck and the back of his head, gently. Their bodies were pressed together along every plane possible. The cool, damp air nipped at Jughead’s bare arms and face, but the warmth of the other boy kept him from feeling it. Archie’s leg was pressed between Jug’s, his hands resting on his hips. The kiss deepened, but stayed slow. If Jughead didn’t know better, he could almost say it was loving.

Kissing Archie felt as natural as breathing, and as easy, too. The only unusual part was the stiffness pressed against his inner thigh. Betty and Toni definitely didn’t have that. 

When Archie pulled away, his breath came heavy as he looked at Jug through his lashes. It was strange, seeing Archie so close. A close up view of the scar between his eyebrows from when he, Jug, and Betty were too rough on a trampoline when they were young; the hint of stubble on his chin. 

“What are you doing to me, Jughead Jones?” Archie whispered, a mere inch from Jughead’s lips.

“This,” Jug responded, closing the distance once again.

Archie left a few minutes later with an awkward goodbye and the vague idea that they hadn’t actually figured anything out, when they had come to the mutual understanding that it was either leave or something would happen that neither boy was ready for. Besides, Jughead was still pretty sure he was straight. Except for the whole wanting to make out with Archie every time he saw him and really wondering what it would feel like to slip his hands under the other boy’s shirt. But he really couldn’t imagine wanting to do that with any other guy he knew.

It took him a few moments and more than a few deep breaths before he was ready to go back inside the trailer home. 

“Good talk with Archie?” FP asked the second the door closed behind Jug with a smirk that knew way more than Jug would’ve liked.

“Yep,” Jughead responded, trying his best to sound nonchalant. He knew he was probably failing miserably and his cheeks were definitely a little warm. He attempted to make a beeline for the kitchen, but his father stopped him.

“Hey, Jughead,” his voice had a tone that screamed serious father-son talk time, “You know I don’t care about what you want to do with the Andrews kid.” FP didn’t phrase it like a question, and all Jughead wanted was to not have some deep conversation with his ne’er do well father.

Jug shrugged, not looking at his dad, “Yeah, whatever. Nothing’s happening anyway.”

“Whatever you say, kid. I don’t care what you are doing with him, but you can’t play games while you are with Alice’s daughter. She doesn’t deserve it.” FP’s eyes burned hole in his son.

“I know, dad. It’s more complicated than that.”

“No it isn’t.” FP finally let Jughead escape the conversation with a hearty slap on the back.

Jughead was almost to the refuge of the kitchen when he stopped and turned around, addressing his dad again, “Don’t tell anyone, dad. Especially not Fred.”

There was a long pause before FP responded, “It’s not my place, son.”

With that, it was done. Though Jughead was pretty sure his life couldn’t get more awkward then it was now.

But life went on. And school seemed pointless with the Black Hood’s return. He and Betty got along and Jug really couldn’t find a way to bring it up. Was it even fair to Archie if he did bring it up? He had to think of more than himself and his guilt.


End file.
